The City of Portland began clearing out the large homeless encampment underneath the Casco Bay Bridge in Harbor View Park Tuesday morning as protestors attempted to block crews from entering the encampment. [RELATED: Portland City Officials Provide Update on 120-Tent, Rat-Infested Homeless Encampment Under Casco Bay Bridge…] Protestors opposed to the encampment sweep parked their cars in a line on Commercial Street in front of the encampment, which were towed one-by-one over the course of the morning. https://twitter.com/TheMaineWire/status/1742191961967108446?s=20 One protestor told the Maine Wire that following the removal of all of the cars, the group intended on forming a line to…
Author: Edward Tomic
The City of Portland has rescheduled its planned sweeps of the various homeless encampments throughout the city for January 2 due to rain. “This resolution was postponed due to the rain in order to ensure the health and safety of all involved; the new resolution date, based on the weather and the upcoming holiday, will be Tuesday, January 2nd,” the city wrote in an update Friday. This is the second time the city has rescheduled the clearing out of the encampments after initially scheduling them to occur on December 19. [EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Newly Inaugurated Portland Mayor Mark Dion on…
Encounters at the northern U.S.-Canada border in Maine’s Houlton Sector remained high through November, according to the most recent data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). [RELATED: Jaw-Dropping Videos Show Illegal Aliens Streaming Over Unsecure U.S. Border By the Tens of Thousands…] Border encounter data includes the apprehension of migrants entering the U.S. illegally under Title 8 by Border Patrol, and the expulsion of migrants under the now-expired Title 42 provision used by the Trump administration during the coronavirus pandemic. CBP reported a total of 47 encounters with migrants in the Houlton Sector in November 2024, down from 53 encounters…
The Maine State Housing Authority (MaineHousing) announced Thursday that it has allocated $8.7 million in state and federal tax credits to affordable housing projects in Bangor, Bath, Portland and Westbrook. MaineHousing stated that the $8.7 million in tax credits will result in over $37.7 million in equity from private investors across the four housing projects, and a total of 185 units targeted towards families and older Mainers. The tax credits come in addition to $8.5 million in subsidies and $12.4 million in loans from MaineHousing towards the construction of affordable housing across the state. “These new developments add to our…
The Westbrook Police Department announced Thursday that a 16-year-old male has been arrested in connection to a series of motor vehicle burglaries in the city. Westbrook Police identified the juvenile male as a suspect, and were able to obtain probable cause to execute a search warrant at the suspect’s residence. Police say the 16-year-old was arrested without incident at his residence shortly before 9 p.m. last Wednesday evening. During the search of the juvenile’s residence, Westbrook Police say officers found several items that were stolen from the various motor vehicle burglaries, including a firearm that was stolen from one of…
The Maine Democratic Party Platform Committee revealed during a remote meeting Wednesday night that “Strong Maine Communities” and an accompanying political action committee (PAC) will play a key role in promoting their talking points going forward. Rep. Dan Sayre (D-Kennebunk) shared the news of the PAC’s formation during Wednesday’s meeting, noting that his sharing of the PAC was not an endorsement, but rather that the messaging of the PAC platform would be useful to the Democratic Party. Registration was filed for the Strong Maine Communities PAC Dec. 17, 2023 by State Rep. Marc Malon (D-Biddeford), a Democratic Party and State…
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) joined Fox News host Laura Ingraham Tuesday to discuss the Colorado Supreme Court ruling that former President Donald Trump is ineligible to to appear on the state’s 2024 primary ballot. [RELATED: Colorado SCOTUS Boots Trump Off 2024 Ballot…] The Colorado Supreme Court’s 4-3 decision cited the 14th Amendment’s “insurrection clause,” arguing that Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S Capitol Building constituted a rebellion against the government and prohibits him from holding public office. The Trump campaign is expected to appeal the Colorado ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, which…
Amid an ongoing and worsening migrant crisis, Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins delivered remarks Tuesday calling for bipartisan solutions to address border security at both the southern and northern borders. [RELATED: Jaw-Dropping Videos Show Illegal Aliens Streaming Over Unsecure U.S. Border By the Tens of Thousands…] “In the State of Maine, encounters have increased over 450 percent since fiscal year 2021,” Sen. Collins said in her floor remarks. “Just recently, the U.S. Border Patrol encountered a group of 20 Romanians illegally crossing into the United States near Houlton, Maine.” “Two of these individuals were flagged as Transnational Criminal Organized Crime…
Winthrop Public Schools (WPS) is struggling to keep its fleet of four electric school buses on the road due to water leak issues and heating system failures, according to a Wednesday transportation report to the WPS School Board. Winthrop is one of the Maine school districts that have reported leaky windshields on the electric buses, which are manufactured by the Canadian-based Lion Electric Co. WPS along with several other Maine school districts received the electric buses as part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s $5 billion “Clean School Bus Program,” launched in October 2022, which has a goal of transitioning…
The Portland City Council voted Monday evening to pass a resolution expressing opposition to a planned sweep of the city’s largest homeless encampment in Harbor View park below the Casco Bay Bridge. [EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Newly Inaugurated Portland Mayor Mark Dion on Homelessness, Rent Control, Welfare, & Socialists] The Harbor View park encampment, comprised of over 100 tents and originally scheduled to be cleared out on Tuesday due to concerns over public health and safety, will now be swept on Dec. 28. The resolution opposing the encampment sweeps passed 7-2, with Mayor Mark Dion voting against the resolution. While the…
A Biddeford man was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Portland for the theft of 22 firearms from a gun shop in Auburn in 2021. Thomas Johnson, 40, was sentenced to 12 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release after being found guilty of theft from a federally licensed firearms dealer, possession of a stolen firearm, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and possession of cocaine base with intent to distribute. According to court records, on October 20, 2021, Johnson visited J.T. Reid’s Gun Shop in Auburn for over an hour, asking store employees…
Portland School Board Chair Sarah Lentz presented the 2023 State of the Schools report to the Portland City Council Monday evening, sharing some statistics about the district’s demographics and stories of student successes. [RELATED: Portland Public Schools Enrolled More Than 300 Homeless Students for 2022-2023 School Year…] After recognizing her fellow Board members, Superintendent, and other district staff, Lentz began her presentation with a guided meditation — combined with a land acknowledgement to the Wabanaki: “I invite you all to take a moment to ground here together. Take a deep breath. Take a breath to become fully present. Take a…
The Maine Wire sat down Wednesday with the City of Portland’s newly elected and inaugurated Mayor Mark Dion for an interview on his outlook for the city’s future and several of the issues he will confront during his term. Dion, former Cumberland County Sheriff and District 5 City Councilor, won the city’s mayoral election in a rank choice runoff after receiving nearly 40 percent of the Election Day vote. [RELATED: Mark Dion Elected as Portland’s Next Mayor After Rank Choice Runoff…] During his campaign, Dion differentiated himself from the rest of the candidates with his strong stance on ending the…
Portland Police announced Monday that a 70-year-old Westbrook man has been arrested in connection to several reports of a man entering the backyard of residences in Portland and “peeking in windows.” Police say the incidents occurred in the backyard of residences on Emery, Pleasant, and State Streets. Gary Ganem, 70, of Westbrook, was arrested Sunday night and charged with violation of privacy and stalking.
U.S. Senators from Maine Susan Collins and Angus King announced Friday that they have joined a bipartisan resolution condemning the Islamist militant organization Hamas for their use of rape against Israelis during their Oct. 7 attack. [RELATED: Susan Collins Voices Support for Biden Admin’s $14 Billion Requested Aid to Israel in Tel Aviv Remarks…] On Oct. 7, Hamas launched a terrorist attack from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel, killing more than 1,200 Israelis. “Hamas’ widespread use of sexual violence against women in Israel during the terrorist attack on October 7 must be condemned unequivocally,” Sen. Collins said Friday. “It is imperative…
A man was shot and killed by Portland Police officers Sunday night after reportedly pointing a gun at officers during a traffic stop, according to a Monday press release by the Portland Police Department. Portland Police say they received a report at around 11:40 p.m. Sunday of an aggravated assault in progress where a handgun was displayed. The suspect fled in a vehicle prior to the officers’ arrival, and was later located by responding officers driving south on Interstate 295. Officers then initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle on the southbound Exit 2 off-ramp of 295. When the officers…
A Massachusetts man described by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine as a “career offender” was sentenced Friday to 13 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for attempting to sell fentanyl to members of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Scarborough Police during a sting operation Eddy Azcona, 27, also known as “Cucu,” previously pleaded guilty in July to possessing 400 grams or more of fentanyl with intent to distribute. In February 2023, the DEA and Scarborough Police arranged to make a controlled purchase of approximately a kilogram of fentanyl from Azcona…
Portland Police responded to an “emergency” in the area of Allen Ave. and Ray St., according to a post to X Friday by the City of Portland. Allen Ave. was closed between Ray St. and Allen’s Corner, according to the post. The city advised people seek to seek alternate routes to avoid the area. https://twitter.com/CityPortland/status/1735697876926320915?s=20 A shelter in place was issued by police to people in the immediate area. An update to the situation was shared by Assistant Portland Police Chief Robert Martin, per WGME: Police say they tried to serve court paperwork to a man in the Residences condominiums…
The City of Portland announced Friday that they will be clearing out the large homeless encampment under the Casco Bay Bridge in Harbor View park starting on Tuesday, Dec. 19, citing concerns over health and safety risks posed by the encampment. [RELATED: Portland City Officials Provide Update on 120-Tent, Rat-Infested Homeless Encampment Under Casco Bay Bridge…] The Casco Bay Bridge homeless encampment in Portland, ME The city states that outreach workers have successfully brought 43 people from the Harbor View park encampment, as well as 111 people sleeping outside in total, into the Homeless Services Center (HSC). The recent opening…
An ex-FBI agent who helped initiate the bureau’s infamous “Russiagate” probe into former President Donald Trump’s alleged collusion with Russia in 2016 has been sentenced to four years in prison for helping a sanctioned Russian oligarch launder money. Former Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Counterintelligence Division in New York Charles McGonigal, who was appointed to that position by then-FBI Director James Comey in October 2016, was a key figure in initiating the FBI’s “Crossfire Hurricane” investigation into potential ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. Multiple federal and congressional probes have yielded no evidence to support the oft-repeated…
Two executives from Catholic Charities Maine joined a panel discussion this week hosted by Refugees International and the Women’s Refugee Commission to discuss how the nonprofit works to resettle refugees and asylum seekers in the state. [RELATED: Lewiston Refugee Resettlement Agency Looks to Hire Afghanistan Case Manager as Maine is Set to Double Number of Refugees Taken in for 2024…] Catholic Charities has been doing refugee resettlement work since 1975, and is one of three agencies in Maine that are approved to resettle refugees in the state, alongside Maine Immigrant and Refugee Services (MEIRS) and the Jewish Community Alliance of…
A longtime substitute teacher and paraprofessional in Maine School Administrative District 75 (MSAD 75) has resigned following the district’s recent adoption of a “transgender and gender-expansive” student policy. MSAD 75 covers schools in Topsham, Bowdoin, Bowdoinham, and Harpswell. The stated purpose of the policy in question, ACAAA, is to “foster a learning environment that is safe and free from discrimination, harassment and bullying,” and to “assist in the educational and social integration of transgender and gender-expansive students.” [RELATED: Freeport School District Set to Consider ‘Transgender and Gender Expansive’ Student Policy…] Months of heated debate surrounding the policy focused on balancing…
Eight people were arrested in Lewiston Tuesday following the execution of a search warrant at a single-family home as part of an ongoing drug investigation, Lewiston Police announced Wednesday. On Tuesday afternoon, Lewiston Police executed a search warrant at 149 College St., based on an ongoing drug investigation at that address. When executing the warrant, officers located 17 people inside the single-family home. Police say some of the occupants attempted to flee as officers entered the residence. Eight people were arrested and about one ounce of fentanyl was seized as a result of the search warrant. Those arrested Tuesday and…
Maine Gov. Janet Mills announced Monday that her administration is investing $3.5 million into substance use disorder (SUD) treatment services in Kennebec and Washington Counties. The investment comes as the most recent data from the Maine Attorney General’s Office reports more than 8,259 drug overdoses and 513 fatal overdoses in 2023 as of October. From January through October 2023, Kennebec and Washington Counties reported a total of 901 overdoses, and 70 fatal overdoses — together accounting for almost 15 percent of the state’s total overdose fatalities in 2023. [RELATED: Mills Touts Opioid Policies as Overdoses in Maine Total Almost 6,000…
The Independent Commission directed by Gov. Janet Mills to investigate the facts surrounding the Oct. 25 mass shooting in Lewiston announced Monday that a public hearing initially scheduled for next week will be postponed. [RELATED: Maine Gov Calls for “Independent” Commission to Review Police, Army Failures and Botched Investigation Around Robert Card’s Lewiston Murder Spree…] Independent Commission Chairman Dan Wathen stated Monday that the hearing, originally scheduled for Dec. 14, will be rescheduled “as soon as possible.” “It was our sincere intention to hold our next public hearing this week,” Wathen stated. “Unfortunately, the Commission is awaiting the receipt of…
A New Hampshire man has been arrested and charged in connection with threats made against Republican 2024 presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and attendees at a campaign event in Portsmouth, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire. [RELATED: Vivek Ramaswamy Says GOP has Become “a Party of Losers,” Blames Ronna McDaniel, Calls for Her Resignation…] https://twitter.com/FBIBoston/status/1734239514455920822?s=20 Tyler Anderson, 30, of Dover, New Hampshire was charged with transmitting in interstate commerce a threat to injure the person of another. Anderson is scheduled to make an initial appearance Monday at 2 p.m. in a Concord federal court. According…
A group of pro-Palestine protestors gathered outside Bath Iron Works (BIW) Friday in Bath, Maine, demanding that the shipyard “stop arming Israel’s genocide in Gaza.” [RELATED: Pro-Palestine Groups Set to Protest Bath Iron Works, Accuse Shipyard of Profiting from “Imperialist Genocide”…] BIW is a subsidiary of General Dynamics, one of the largest defense companies in the world and private sector employers in Maine, and was recently awarded a $58 million contract by the U.S. Navy for services for new destroyers through 2024. A BIW spokesperson declined to comment on the protest. Friday’s protest comes just over two months since the…
South Portland Police announced Friday that following a police chase, they have arrested a suspect in relation to a home invasion that occurred while the suspect in question was out on bail for a previous incident which also ended a police chase. [RELATED: ‘High Risk’ Traffic Stop Following Shots Fired in Portland Ends in South Portland Police Chase and Arrest…] The suspect, 30-year-old Mohamud Abdullahi, was the subject of a police chase on Nov. 22, 2023, when he was arrested and charged with refusing to submit to arrest and assault for allegedly spitting in the face of South Portland officer,…
A Buxton man was found guilty by a federal jury Thursday of transmitting a threatening communication due to a threat against Jewish people he posted on Twitter — now X — in 2021. The verdict came following a three-day jury trial in the U.S. District Court in Portland. On Sept. 8, 2021, 27-year-old Brian Dennison of Buxton posted to Twitter: “I’m going to kill jews with my ar15 tomorrow [sic],” according to evidence presented during the trial. Following Dennison’s tweet, FBI investigators identified him as the likely author of the threat and executed search warrants at his Buxton residence. Among…
Portland Police issued a press release Thursday warning of a pair of incidents this week where it appeared someone was trying to lure school-aged children into their vehicles. According to police, the first incident occurred on Monday morning, when a 10-year-old boy walking on Congress Street towards the Reiche School was approached by a black male in his 20s or 30s and offered a ride. Police say the boy responded “no” and the man drove away in either a light blue or white sedan. The second incident occurred on Wednesday, when a 17-year-old student was walking home from the Waynflete…
U.S. Senators from Maine Angus King and Susan Collins, alongside Democratic District 1 Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, sent a letter Wednesday to U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas requesting a rule change that would provide more funding to shelters for migrants. [RELATED: Chamber of Commerce Joined Mills Admin for Private Meeting on Importing Non-Citizen Workers…] King, Collins and Pingree are requesting that if Congress provides additional funding for the Shelter and Services Program (SSP) administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), that the 45-day limitation on that federal aid for migrants be increased to 180 days. FEMA’s…
A Maine man pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Bangor to intentionally making false statements to a federal law enforcement agent, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine. According to court records, in November 2022, 24-year-old Victor Sousa of Wayne, Maine, was questioned by a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officer regarding two subjects of a federal narcotics investigation. Sousa then denied that he knew either suspect, but proceeded to call “Suspect A” from jail multiple times, had previously lived with “Suspect A,” and “Suspect B” had supplied Sousa with narcotics in the past, the…
In a Wednesday op-ed in the Portland Press Herald, Cumberland County District Attorney Jackie Sartoris expressed her concern over rampant drug use, sexual assault, violence and theft in Portland’s large homeless encampments. [RELATED: “We need to do a lot more enforcement”: Cumberland DA Jackie Sartoris Talks Portland Homeless Encampments on WGAN…] Over the past year, there has been a significant increase in the number and size of homeless encampments in Portland — from 75 tents citywide in February to a current total of almost 200. The city’s Encampment Crisis Response Team (ECRT), formed in late May of this year and…
Former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy announced Wednesday in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that he is resigning from Congress and will be leaving the U.S. House of Representatives at the end of this year. The California Republican, who has served in the House for 17 years, was ousted from the speakership in October 2023 after relying on Democrats to pass a stopgap spending bill to avoid a government shutdown in late September. “Today I am driven by the same purpose that I felt when I arrived in Congress,” McCarthy said in a video statement posted to X Wednesday.…
A group of pro-Palestine groups will hold a rally Friday at Bath Iron Works (BIW) in Bath, Maine, to “protest the ongoing building of weaponry that feeds the imperialist genocide.” [RELATED: Maine DSA Stages Pro-Hamas Rally in Portland, Calls Terror Attacks on Israel “Morally and Legally Legitimate”…] BIW is a shipyard that has been a subsidiary of General Dynamics since 1995, one of the largest defense companies in the world. The rally will be held Friday, Dec. 8 at 2 p.m., and participating organizations will include Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights, Students for Justice in Palestine groups from various colleges…
A man was arrested and charged with murder in Portland in relation to the death of a 61-year-old man in Westbrook, according to Maine State Police. Police say the body of 61-year-old Clarence James Pearson of Westbrook was found in an apartment on Mechanic Street on November 28. An arrest warrant was issued for 36-year-old Deng Malual, who was found by police Monday in Portland and charged with murder. Malual is being held at the Cumberland County Jail. Maine State Police say the investigation into the circumstances surrounding Pearson’s death is ongoing, and have not yet released how Pearson died.
The House Judiciary Committee and its Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government released an interim staff report Monday detailing how the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) painted traditional Catholic Americans as potential domestic terrorists. The Committee and Select Subcommittee began their investigation into the weaponization of the FBI against “radical-traditionalist Catholic[s]” in February 2023, following the release of an FBI Richmond Field Office memorandum by whistleblower Kyle Seraphin. In the FBI Richmond memorandum, the agency characterized so-called radical-traditional Catholics as embracing “anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ, and white supremacist ideology.” The House report explains how the FBI memo cited…
A Maine man has been convicted by a federal jury in Boston in connection to his role in a methamphetamine conspiracy that operated in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Northern California. [RELATED: Man Sentenced to 8 Years for Trafficking Meth into Maine from Florida…] Jacob Parlin, 44, of Lebanon, Maine, was convicted on Nov. 30 of one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and one count of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Parlin was the tenth and final defendant to…
Republican presidential candidates Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson both failed to meet the signature requirement to appear on Maine’s 2024 primary election ballot, the Department of the Maine Secretary of State announced Friday. [RELATED: Maine Democrats Want to Block Trump’s 2024 Ballot Access as Scandal Swarms Top Ranking Dem Troy Jackson…] The deadline for candidates to achieve the 2,000 required signatures of Maine voters to appear on the ballot in the March 5 primary election was 5 p.m. on December 1. As of that deadline, both former New Jersey Gov. Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Hutchinson failed to obtain the…
Republican U.S. Senator from Maine Susan Collins has sent a letter to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maine Darcie McElwee regarding a vast network of illegal Chinese-owned marijuana growing operations in the state. [RELATED: Triad Weed: How Chinese Marijuana Grows Took Over Rural Maine…] In her Nov. 30 letter, Sen. Collins references the Maine Wire’s in-depth reporting on the identification of more than 100 properties in rural Maine that have been transformed into illicit marijuana grow operations. The Maine Wire’s investigation came after an unclassified memo from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed the presence of…
Maine State Rep. Austin Theriault, R-Fort Kent, is set to receive support from House Speaker Mike Johnson’s newly formed “Grow the Majority” committee in his bid to challenge Democratic Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) in 2024, according to a Monday Federal Election Commission (FEC) filing. [RELATED: NASCAR Driver Austin Theriault Joins the Race for Maine’s Second Congressional District…] Speaker Johnson’s Grow the Majority committee will be the principal fundraising apparatus to support Republicans running for House seats in the 2024 election. Funds from Grow the Majority will be distributed across 25 House GOP incumbents, 10 nominee funds for key House districts,…
Portland Fire Chief Keith Gautreau joined Maine Public Broadcasting’s Jennifer Rooks on Monday’s Maine Calling program to discuss the city’s approach to its homeless encampments and the public health and safety issues posed by them. Rooks asked Chief Gautreau whether the City of Portland has a specific policy related to when they decide to allow encampments, and when they decide to remove, or “sweep” them. [RELATED: Maine ACLU Demands Portland Stop ‘Criminalizing Homelessness’, Calls Encampment Sweeps ‘Inherently Racist’…] Gautreau described his work on the city’s Encampment Crisis Response Team (ECRT), which was formed in late May of this year. The approach…
Following a four-day trial, a federal jury in the District of Maine convicted a Massachusetts man Friday of sex trafficking and obstruction of trafficking prosecution. Ricardo Middleton, also known as “red,” 32, of Boston, was found guilty of sex trafficking a young woman through force, fraud and coercion, as well as instructing a co-defendant not to incriminate him while detained pending trial. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison. According to court records Middleton targeted a heroin-addicted 25-year-old woman living in South Portland, and coerced her to engage…
Portland’s Encampment Crisis Response Team (ECRT) has started implementing a plan to move homeless individuals from the Harbor View Park encampment below the Casco Bay Bridge into the Homeless Services Center (HSC). [RELATED: Portland City Officials Provide Update on 120-Tent, Rat-Infested Homeless Encampment Under Casco Bay Bridge…] Last Tuesday the city opened a new $4.6 million emergency shelter exclusively for single asylum-seeking migrants at 166 Riverside Industrial Parkway, which the city says has opened approximately 120 beds at the HSC. Those openings are in addition to a temporary 50-bed expansion to the HSC as a result of the City Council approving…
The Maine State Chamber of Commerce recently held a closed-to-the-public meeting with the Mills Administration to receive an informational presentation on her planned “Office of New Americans (ONA).” Gov. Janet Mills directed her Office of Policy Innovation and the Future (GOPIF) to develop a plan to establish the ONA via Executive Order on August 3. The ONA will be tasked with attracting “New Mainers” to address the state’s workforce shortage, and sets a goal of bringing 75,000 people into Maine by 2029. [RELATED: Maine Governor Signs Executive Order Creating New Migrant Resettlement Office…] “For generations, immigrants have brought their skills,…
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) is accusing Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) of blocking her request to file a subpoena for Jeffrey Epstein’s flight logs. “@SenatorDurbin BLOCKED my request to subpoena Jeffrey Epstein’s Flight logs. What are Democrats trying to hide?” Sen. Blackburn wrote on X Thursday. “We were trying to get my subpoenas of Jeffrey Epstein’s flight logs, and the subpoena of [Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor and her book deal — things that weren’t reported but we have found out about this through the news,” Blackburn said in a video posted Thursday evening. “And of course the…
A Benton man accused of killing a 62-year-old in Fairfield has been arrested after he intentionally drove his vehicle into a ditch and lit its interior on fire while being pursued by Maine State Police detectives. On Tuesday, Nov. 28, the Fairfield Police Department responded to a death at 247 A Main Street in Fairfield. The 62-year-old Edwin Weeks of Fairfield was found deceased in the residence by a friend who stopped by to check on him, according to police. The Fairfield Police then brought in the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit – Central to respond and assist in…
A South Portland juvenile has been detained after violating conditions of his release related to charges of Terrorizing, Criminal Solicitation and Arson dating back to April of this year, according to a Friday South Portland Police press release. South Portland Police, working with Juvenile Community Corrections Officers, took a 17-year-old into custody Thursday and detained him at Long Creek Youth Development Center for violating the conditions of his release. In April, the youth was arrested for making threats that included South Portland High School as a potential target. The teenager is accused of trying to recruit another person into a…
Republican U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida and four of his colleagues sent a letter Friday to President Joe Biden urging him to restrict travel between the U.S. and China due a “unknown respiratory illness” spreading in the communist country. https://twitter.com/SenMarcoRubio/status/1730606185890344996?s=20 Earlier this week health authorities in Beijing warned of a coming surge in respiratory illness in China after a recent rise in pneumonia cases among children — many have compared these reports to the information coming from China during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. “In light of an unknown respiratory illness spreading throughout the People’s Republic of…
The Portland Police Department announced Friday morning that they are investigating a death at the city’s largest homeless encampment underneath the Casco Bay Bridge. [RELATED: Portland City Officials Provide Update on 120-Tent, Rat-Infested Homeless Encampment Under Casco Bay Bridge…] Shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday, Portland Police responded to a report of an unresponsive male at 232 York Street — Harbor View Park. Upon arrival, officers were taken to the Commercial Street side of the park next to a support under the bridge, where they located a deceased 52-year-old male inside of a tent. Police say the investigation into the death…
Following autopsies from the Maine Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the deaths of two adults found in Searsmont Monday were determined to have been a murder-suicide. The two deceased adults were found shortly after 2 p.m. Monday and were taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta for autopsies to determine the cause and manner of their deaths. The individuals were identified as 50-year-old Amy Nickerson of Stockton Springs, and 50-year-old Lance Lucas of Searsmont. The death of Amy Nickerson was ruled a homicide, and the cause of her death was determined to be a gunshot…
A Lewiston man was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Bangor for his role in an illegal “straw purchasing” cash and drugs-for-guns conspiracy, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The straw purchase of a firearm is an illegal purchase where the actual buyer of the gun, who is unable to pass a federal background check or does not want their name associated with the transaction, uses a proxy buyer who can pass a background check to buy the firearm for them. Abdullahi Issak, 26, of Lewiston was sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by five…
In a Wednesday morning segment on WGAN Morning News with host and CEO of the Maine Policy Institute Matt Gagnon, outgoing Portland Mayor Kate Snyder spoke to the influence that the Maine Democratic Socialists of America (Maine DSA) exerts over the city’s political processes. Gagnon asked the outgoing mayor to speak about the challenges posed by having citizen initiatives acting in parallel to the work of the Portland City Council. “I think the national platform of the Democratic Socialists of America has really taken hold in Portland, Maine,” Snyder said. “And there are many people who are very receptive to…
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Thursday that he is suing Pfizer, alleging the pharmaceutical giant unlawfully misrepresented the effectiveness of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine and attempted to censor public discourse on the product. [RELATED: New Maine CDC Director Recommends Masks and Latest COVID Booster for Everybody Ages 6 months and Older…] Paxton accuses Pfizer of violating the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by engaging in false, deceptive, and misleading acts and practices regarding the company’s COVID vaccine. https://twitter.com/KenPaxtonTX/status/1730301900669505942?s=20 “We are pursuing justice for the people of Texas, many of whom were coerced by tyrannical vaccine mandates to take a…
A Massachusetts magician who performed for young children across New England for over 20 years pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Boston to child pornography offenses. Scott Jameson, 46, of Sutton, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to one count of illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place and one count of transportation of child pornography. Jameson was charged by criminal complaint in October 2022, and is scheduled for sentencing on March 7, 2024. In early 2022, Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE), a Cambodian non-governmental organization founded to prevent child sexual abuse and exploitation, reported Jameson to federal authorities for engaging in…
Democratic Governor of California Gavin Newsom will face off against Florida Governor and Republican presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis in a Thursday evening debate hosted by Fox News. The 90-minute debate, entitled “DeSantis vs. Newsom: The Great Red vs. Blue State Debate,” will be hosted by Fox News host Sean Hannity beginning at 9 p.m. EST Thursday live from Alpharetta, Georgia. Hannity will then host a live reaction segment with a panel of guests from 10:30 to 11 p.m. Fox describes the upcoming debate as “a high-profile general election-style debate putting two relatively young and very well-known governors of large states…
Chair of the House Judiciary Committee Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) released subpoenaed internal communications Thursday revealing how the Biden White House pressured YouTube to censor content related to the COVID-19 pandemic. [RELATED: Facebook Files: Biden Admin Pressured Company to Censor NY Post, Daily Wire, ‘Vaccine Negative’ Posts…] These revelations come months after the House Judiciary Committee exposed collusion between Facebook executives and Biden administration officials to censor Americans’ speech during the pandemic. “We knew the Biden White House was pushing Facebook and Twitter to censor more,” Rep. Jordan wrote on X Thursday. “Now we know the White House was repeatedly…
Just over a month since a mass shooting in Lewiston claimed the lives of 18 people, independent U.S. Sen. Angus King announced Thursday that he will be introducing legislation aimed at curbing mass killings and gun violence. The bill, the “Gas-Operated Semi-Automatic Firearms Exclusion (GOSAFE) Act,” increases regulations and restrictions on the sale, transfer, and manufacture of gas-operated semi-automatic weapons. The legislation is being co-sponsored by two Democratic Senators, Mark Kelly of Arizona and Michael Bennet of Colorado. “For years, I have said that rather than using the appearance of these guns to restrict them, we should instead focus on…
Officers from the Wilton Police Department and investigators from the Maine Office of Cannabis Policy (OCP) busted a massive illegal marijuana cultivation facility Tuesday during a routine inspection, according to a Wednesday Wilton Police press release. [RELATED: Raid on Illegal Chinese Marijuana Operation in Western Maine Seizes Illicit Drugs Worth $1M+…] Wilton Police say that on Tuesday, Nov. 28, officers from the Wilton Police Department assisted OCP investigators in conducting a routine follow up inspection at a licensed marijuana cultivation facility at a property on Weld Road in Wilton. During the inspection, Wilton Police say they received information “that someone…
A man and woman were arrested in Westbrook last Friday after allegedly trespassing into a home and setting up a tent in its basement, according to a Tuesday press release by the Westbrook Police Department. Last Friday at approximately 2 p.m., Westbrook Police Officers responded to a residence on Church St. in Westbrook for a report of two suspects that were trespassing on the property, and had set up a tent in the basement of the residence. When officers located the two suspects in the basement, they discovered that the pair did not live at the residence and were refusing…
Lawyers for Hunter Biden have told the Republican-led House Oversight Committee that the president’s son is willing to testify before the lawmakers on Dec. 13 as part of their inquiry into the president and his family, according to a letter Biden’s legal team sent to the committee Tuesday. [RELATED: GOP-Led House Committees Subpoena IRS and FBI Officials Over Alleged Interference in Hunter Biden Investigation…] This comes after the House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Hunter and James Biden — President Joe Biden’s brother — earlier this month, the latest step in their probe into the Biden family’s foreign business dealings. Republican lawmakers…
The Maine State Police are investigating the deaths of two adults who were found Monday deceased at a home in Searsmont. Shortly before 2 p.m. Monday the Waldo County Sheriff’s Office responded to a home on Borough Road in Searsmont where two adults were found deceased. The Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit-Central was called in to investigate the deaths. The two deceased adults are being taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta for autopsies to determine the cause and manner of their deaths. Maine State Police said in a Monday evening press release that there…
A black public housing tenant and her family have filed a lawsuit against the Auburn Housing Authority (AHA) and two employees for allegedly refusing to respond to infrastructure damage in her apartment and making racist comments last year. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Dominique Deschaine, Justin Deschaine, and their four minor children are residents at 702 Broadview Ave. in Auburn, a residential apartment unit owned by the City of Auburn and managed by the AHA. The two AHA employees named as defendants in the complaint are AHA assistant property manager Leah Landry, and AHA maintenance mechanic Daniel Jordan. The Maine…
A Florida man was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Bangor for trafficking methamphetamine from Florida into Maine with the help of co-conspirators. [RELATED: DEA Administrator Briefs Susan Collins on Illegal Chinese Marijuana Grows, Increased Opioid and Meth Use in Maine…] U.S. District Judge Lance E. Walker sentenced 32-year-old Jared Fogg to eight years in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Fogg pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine in April. Between May 2018 and July 2018, Fogg was obtaining large quantities of methamphetamine from Florida and distributing it in areas…
A report published last week by the left-wing dark money-funded think tank the Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP) advocates for increased immigration and the expansion of taxpayer-funded social services and housing for non-citizens to combat the state’s “plateauing workforce.” The MECEP report, entitled “State of Working Maine 2023: Boosting Maine’s Workforce,” suggests policies including the removal of immigration status restrictions on the state’s MaineCare health insurance, subsidizing English language proficiency courses and scholarships for immigrants, and allowing illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses. https://twitter.com/JamesxMyall/status/1727045827745792231?s=20 MECEP receives funding from the Hopewell Fund and the Maine People’s Resource Center, two of…
Two people are dead after two separate incidents of tent fires in Portland and Sanford over the weekend. A Portland Police officer found a deceased person inside of a burning tent Sunday at a campsite along the northbound lane of I-295 at the rear of 140 Marginal Way. [RELATED: Maine ACLU Says Failed Proposal to Legalize Portland Homeless Encampments with Frequent Overdoses, Assaults, and Rapes Would Have Been “Positive First Step”…] An officer patrolling the area located the campsite just before 3:30 a.m. Sunday and saw a human body inside of a tent that was on fire. After the fire…
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is seeking the extradition of an alleged lead assassin of the Sinaloa drug cartel following his arrest by Mexican authorities last week. [RELATED: High-Ranking MS-13 Fugitive Arrested on Terrorism Charges…] “Yesterday, Mexican authorities arrested Néstor Isidro Pérez Salas, also known as ‘El Nini,’ who we allege is one of the Sinaloa Cartel’s lead sicarios, or assassins,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday. “Until his apprehension, El Nini led security operations for the Chapitos and we allege that he and his security forces murdered, tortured, and kidnapped rivals, witnesses, and others who opposed the Chapitos,” Garland said.…
A Buxton man was arrested in the early hours of Thursday morning after allegedly firing several rounds from a firearm in Portland and then crossing the Casco Bay Bridge into South Portland. Shortly before 1 a.m. Thursday, police received a 911 call reporting reckless conduct with a firearm. It was reported that a male suspect fired several rounds from a firearm in the area of 262 Commercial St. in Portland, and then proceeded to drive across the Casco Bay Bridge into South Portland. South Portland Police detectives investigating a separate incident identified the vehicle as it drove west on Broadway…
Violent riots erupted across Dublin, Ireland Thursday evening following a knife attack earlier that day at an Irish elementary school that left three young children wounded. https://twitter.com/Mick_O_Keeffe/status/1727745412277113186?s=20 According to the Irish Times, a five-year-old girl was taken to a Dublin hospital in critical condition, while a boy aged five, and a girl aged six sustained less serious injuries. A woman in her 30s, who is reportedly an employee of the school, was also taken to the hospital after suffering serious injuries from the attack. Passers-by were able to intervene and stop the suspected assailant shortly after the stabbing attack began,…
Early Tuesday morning U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents of the Houlton Sector apprehended 20 Romanian nationals who had illegally crossed the U.S.-Canada border into Hodgdon, Maine. According to Border Patrol, the 20 foreign nationals — made up of 10 adults and 10 juveniles — crossed the border illegally inside four vehicles in what was described by the agency as a “border rush.” Agents responded to the crossing shortly after 6 a.m., and stopped the vehicles by utilizing emergency equipment. The foreign nationals were then transported to Fort Fairfield Station for processing. The processing revealed that all 20 foreign nationals…
On the 60th anniversary of his uncle John F. Kennedy’s assassination, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s campaign launched a petition calling on President Joe Biden to release all records related to the Nov. 22, 1963 assassination. “John F. Kennedy’s assassination left an indelible scar upon the American psyche,” RFK Jr. said in a statement Wednesday. “Everyone who was alive at the time can remember where they were on that day.” [RELATED: RFK Jr Confronted by Pro-Palestine Heckler Calling for Ceasefire at Portland Event…] “Of all the legacies that my uncle left for our country, there is one that…
The Maine American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) put out a press release Tuesday claiming that the rejected Portland City Council order to legalize the city’s homeless encampments through the winter months “would have been a positive first step toward protecting the constitutional rights of unhoused residents.” [RELATED: Chaos at Portland City Hall as Leftist Protesters Demand Legalized Homelessness…] After hearing over four hours of public comment Monday evening on the proposal — Order 68 — the Portland City Council shot it down by a vote of 6-3 shortly after 1 a.m. Maine ACLU legal fellow Heather Zimmerman testified during Monday evening’s City Council…
Over a dozen students at Wiscasset Middle High School (WMHS) staged a walkout Monday morning in protest of school staff resigning and against the move by Wiscasset Superintendent Kim Andersson to potentially fire WMHS Principal Gina Stevens. [RELATED: Wiscasset Principal Faces Possible Termination Over Hidden Camera, Mistreatment of Students and Staff Allegations…] Last Monday, Nov. 13, the Wiscasset School Committee voted 4-0 to conduct a dismissal hearing for Stevens over allegations from Superintendent Andersson accusing the principal of installing a hidden camera in a WMHS food pantry and the mistreatment of students and staff. The complaints against Stevens from Andersson…
The Portland City Council voted against an order to legalize homeless camps in public parks through the winter months after hours of public comment pushed the Monday evening Council meeting into the early hours of Tuesday morning. The order in question would have amended the city’s ordinances to permit loitering and camping for Portland’s homeless population in public parks and other areas, with few exceptions. [RELATED: Portland May Legalize Loitering, Camping in Parks for Homeless Population…] The proposed ordinance changes were estimated by the city to cost over $1.2 million in unappropriated funds across several departments. City officials including Police Chief…
A Gorham man who was previously arrested in May of this year on the charge of operating of a methamphetamine laboratory was arrested again Sunday after he was found outside of a Gorham church allegedly in the process of producing the illegal drug. On Sunday, Nov. 19, at about noon Gorham police officers responded to the area of the First Parish Congregational Church in Gorham following a call from a concerned citizen about a man suspected of conducting drug deals, according to a Monday Maine Drug Enforcement Agency (MDEA) press release. Officers located the suspect, 37-year-old Matthew Cole of Durham,…
A Lewiston refugee resettlement agency is looking to hire an additional case manager to serve only Afghan refugee clients, according to a posting on the online job board Indeed. The refugee resettlement agency, Maine Immigrant and Refugee Services (MEIRS), is one of three agencies in Maine that are approved to resettle refugees in the state, alongside Catholic Charities Maine and the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine. Maine Immigrant & Refugee Services’ job posting | Indeed.com In early October, the three resettlement agencies announced that they had been approved to resettle double the amount of refugees in fiscal year 2024…
A proposal to amend the City of Portland’s loitering and camping ordinances to allow for homeless individuals to camp in public parks through the winter months is projected to cost the city over $1.2 million. [RELATED: Portland May Legalize Loitering, Camping in Parks for Homeless Population…] The ordinance changes were proposed by City Councilors Roberto Rodriguez and Anna Trevorrow on Nov. 13, and would create a temporary exemption to city’s prohibition on camping and loitering on city property for homeless individuals through April 2024. The proposal would effectively put a five-month pause on the city’s current procedure of designating one…
A growing number of Americans describe crime in the U.S. as a serious problem, according a Gallup poll released Thursday. Sixty-three percent of Americans surveyed by Gallup assessed the crime problem in the U.S. as extremely or very serious, up from 54 percent when last measured in 2021. Far fewer respondents, just 17 percent, described the crime problem in their local area as extremely or very serious, a disparity which Gallup states is a common trend among Americans’ perception of crime. Over three-quarters of Americans — 77 percent — believe there is more crime in the U.S. than a year…
Republican U.S. Senator from Maine Susan Collins was briefed Thursday by Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Anne Milgram on efforts to combat Maine’s hundreds of illegal Chinese-owned marijuana grow operations, as well as the opioid epidemic and the rise of crystal meth use in the state. [RELATED: Triad Weed: How Chinese Marijuana Grows Took Over Rural Maine…] This briefing comes on the heels of a Maine Wire investigative report that identified more than 100 properties in rural Maine that are part of a vast network of illicit Chinese marijuana grows. Sen. Collins said in a Friday press release that she…
Maine State Police announced Thursday that a Bangor man has been arrested in connection to a robbery at a laundromat in Unity. On Nov. 15, at 5 p.m. a man entered Depot Village Laundry in Unity and stole several thousand dollars from a change machine that was ripped off the wall. Maine State Police shared surveillance video of the burglary to social media and asked for assistance identifying the man in the video. On Thursday police announced that the man in the video had been identified as 41-year-old Kevin Gray of Bangor. Kevin Gray, 41, of Bangor | Source: Penobscot…
East Millinocket Police are still attempting to learn the true identity of a “John Doe” arrested on drug trafficking charges after a traffic stop last Thursday. On the evening of Thursday, Nov. 9, East Millinocket Police Sgt. Garret Carlson conducted a traffic stop for a motor vehicle defect. One of the passengers in the vehicle “clearly was attempting to give a false identification” to Sgt. Carlson, police stated in a Thursday press release. Another officer was able to obtain identification from the passenger, but learned that the individual had a warrant out for his arrest under a fake identity he…
A high-ranking leader of the transnational criminal organization La Mara Salvatrucha, more commonly known as MS-13, has been arrested on terrorism charges based on a December 2020 indictment filed in the Eastern District of New York. On Nov. 9, Elmer Canales-Rivera, also known as “Crook de Hollywood” and a founding member of MS-13’s “Twelve Apostles of the Devil,” was arrested by federal law enforcement upon his arrival at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas. A federal judge then ordered Canales-Rivera be transferred to the custody of the Eastern District of New York to face the 2020 indictment, which also…
Gov. Janet Mills and Maine’s congressional delegation sent a letter Thursday to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) urging the agency to completely prohibit offshore wind power development in a key Gulf of Maine lobstering area. [RELATED: Gulf of Maine Lobstering Area Spared as Biden Admin Drafts Offshore Wind Development Zones…] Thursday’s letter is the latest step in the push by Gov. Mills and the delegation to bar offshore wind development in Lobster Management Area 1 (LMA 1), following a June letter to BOEM asking them to remove LMA 1 from their drafted Wind Energy Area (WEA). In late…
The Maine Office of Cannabis Policy (OCP) has found a contamination rate of 42 percent in samples taken from the state’s medical cannabis program, according to the OCP’s fall 2023 testing report. [RELATED: Triad Weed: How Chinese Marijuana Grows Took Over Rural Maine…] Participants in Maine’s Medical Use of Cannabis Program (MMCP), unlike those in the Adult Use Cannabis Program (AUCP), are not required to submit their products for the testing. The State of Maine currently has over 106,000 participants in the MMCP. Based on 120 samples from the state’s medical cannabis program, the OCP has found that 50 samples…
Portland city officials provided updates regarding the homeless encampment below the Casco Bay Bridge during a Tuesday evening Health and Human Services and Public Safety Committee meeting. The Casco Bay Bridge encampment, located in Harbor View Park below the bridge, has grown to become the city’s largest encampment following the city’s sweep of the Marginal Way Park and Ride encampment on Nov. 1. [RELATED: Sweep Underway at Portland’s Largest Homeless Encampment, Being Moved Below Casco Bay Bridge…] According to Portland Parks, Recreation and Facilities Management Director Ethan Hipple, the Harbor View encampment has a total of 120 tents — more…
Wiscasset Middle High School (WMHS) Principal Gina Stevens faces potential dismissal over accusations that she had a hidden camera installed in a school closet and has mistreated students and staff. Stevens has been the principal of WMHS since July 1, 2023, after previously being interim principal between Feb. 21, 2023, and June 30, 2023. She was put on paid administrative leave on Oct. 30. The Wiscasset School Committee voted 4-0 Monday to conduct a dismissal hearing for Stevens, following a public personnel hearing in which Superintendent Kim Andersson detailed the complaints against the principal. Although disciplinary hearings are usually confidential,…
Update: This story was updated to reflect a change in the location of the meeting. It will now be held in the Cross Building, room 209. The Independent Commission charged by Maine Gov. Janet Mills to investigate the facts surrounding the Oct. 25 shootings in Lewiston will hold its first organizational meeting on Monday, Nov. 20 in Augusta, commission Chairman Daniel Wathen announced Wednesday. [RELATED: Maine Gov Calls for “Independent” Commission to Review Police, Army Failures and Botched Investigation Around Robert Card’s Lewiston Murder Spree…] The meeting will be held in room 209 in the Burton Cross State Office Building, next…
The Portland City Council voted Monday evening to declare a limited state of emergency in order to temporarily expand the capacity of the city’s Homeless Services Center (HSC) by 50 beds through February. [RELATED: Taxpayers Have Spent More Than $114 Million on Portland Homeless Shelters Since 2019…] The order passed by a vote of 6-2 Monday, after two previous efforts to approve the expansion on Oct. 2 and 16 failed. “I understand that the [HSC] is not the option that best meets the needs of many of the people that are unhoused, however it does meet the needs of some,”…
The cost to U.S. taxpayers of providing housing, education, health care, and other benefits to migrants who entered the country illegally over the past three years could exceed $451 billion per year. That’s according to a new report released by the Republican-led majority of the House Committee on Homeland Security. [RELATED: Portland’s $4.6M, 179-Bed Shelter for Migrants Slated to Open Later This Month…] “Every day, millions of American taxpayer dollars are spent on costs directly associated with illegal immigration and the unprecedented crisis at the Southwest border sparked by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ policies,” the interim…
Republican U.S. Senator from Maine Susan Collins has introduced a bipartisan bill, the “Working Waterfront Preservation Act,” alongside Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) that would establish a $20 million grant program to help preserve access to waterfronts in coastal areas for fishermen and maritime workers. [RELATED: Golden Slams House Republicans for Rejecting Amendment to Prohibit Offshore Wind in Maine Lobstering Area…] “The hard working men and women that make up Maine’s maritime industries continue to lose access to the waterfronts that sustain them,” Sen. Collins said in a Monday press release. “Recent demand for coastal property has only intensified the problem…
Robert Cross, businessman and former U.S. Department of Agriculture employee, suspended his campaign Monday for the 2024 Republican primary race in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District. “Throughout this campaign, I have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support I have received from friends, neighbors, and citizens concerned about our nation’s direction,” Cross wrote Monday in a post to his campaign Facebook page. “After much prayerful reflection and consideration with my family, I have made the difficult decision to suspend my campaign for Congress.” Cross, who describes himself as a proud Christian, business and community leader, and constitutional conservative, was the first…
On Nov. 9, Maine Gov. Janet Mills signed an Executive Order establishing an “Independent Commission” to investigate the facts surrounding the Oct. 25 mass shooting in Lewiston, following scrutiny of law enforcement’s response to the shooting and questions surrounding what more could have been done to prevent it. Part of the governor’s order exempts the commission from Maine’s mandatory public access laws — effectively allowing the commission to keep their proceedings and records secret until the release of their final report. In a Nov. 8 joint letter to the commission, Mills and Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey — whose office…
The Portland City Council is set to consider Monday a proposed order that would amend city ordinances to allow homeless individuals to camp and loiter in public spaces, with few exceptions. The order, submitted by City Councilors Anna Trevorrow and Roberto Rodriguez, would create a “temporary exception to the City’s prohibition on camping and loitering on City property and would allow unhoused people to camp on certain public property from theeffective date of the amendments to April 30, 2024.” The proposed amendment changes would maintain a prohibition on camping in certain specified locations, including downtown streets and sidewalks, playgrounds, City…
Kevin Kelley, spokesman of Maine Gov. Janet Mills’ Independent Commission to investigate the facts surrounding the Lewiston shooting, has clarified to the Maine Wire that the Commission will be subject to public records requests upon the conclusion of their investigatory work. [RELATED: Maine Gov Calls for “Independent” Commission to Review Police, Army Failures and Botched Investigation Around Robert Card’s Lewiston Murder Spree…] Gov. Mills established the Independent Commission with a Nov. 9 Executive Order, which states that “Records, proceedings and deliberations of the Independent Commission are not subject to the requirements of 1 M.R.S. c. 13, in accordance with sections…
Apple has reached a $25 million settlement agreement with the Justice Department over allegations that the tech giant illegally discriminated in hiring and recruitment against U.S. citizens and certain permanent residents with work authorization. [RELATED: Maine Senators Announce More Than 64,000 Supplemental Temporary Work Visas for Foreign Nationals…] Under the agreement, Apple is required to pay $6.75 million in civil penalties and establish an $18.25 million backpay fund for eligible discrimination victims — the largest award the Justice Department has recovered under the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The Justice Department’s investigation, which started in 2019,…
UPDATE: Kevin Kelley, spokesman for the Independent Commission, has provided a statement to the Maine Wire clarifying that the Commission will be subject to FOAA upon the conclusion of their work and the release of their final report. Kelley’s statement is below: While the order does exempt the work of the commission during the course of the ongoing investigation, the FOAA law would apply upon conclusion of the commission’s work. In addition, Chairman Wathen has pledged that, so far as practical, the commission intends to be as public as possible so long as it does not hinder its fact finding mission.…
In a Nov. 6 letter to Portland’s State Senators and Representatives, Mayor Kate Snyder requested the lawmakers’ assistance in identifying state or federal funding for the city’s resettlement of migrants. “On behalf of the City of Portland, I am writing to request your assistance in identifying State or Federal funding to continue this vital program, which addresses the critical and basic needs of thousands of asylum seekers annually,” Mayor Snyder wrote. Currently, the City of Portland Resettlement Program depends entirely on federal funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Emergency Food and Shelter Program. On Dec. 31, 2023, that…
Independent 2024 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confronted by a pro-Palestine heckler calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas at a Wednesday evening campaign event in Portland. This comes after two Jewish-owned businesses in Portland in recent weeks have been targeted by pro-Palestine graffiti and posters, and the leader of a rally in the city’s Monument Square held by the Maine Democratic Socialists of America called the Oct. 7 killing of over 1,400 Israelis by Hamas “morally and legally legitimate.” [RELATED: Maine DSA Stages Pro-Hamas Rally in Portland, Calls Terror Attacks on Israel “Morally and Legally Legitimate”……
A new 179-bed shelter for single asylum seekers in Portland’s Riverton neighborhood is set to open on Nov. 29. [RELATED: Portland City Council Approves Contract for $4.59 Million 180-Bed Shelter for Asylum Seekers…] The construction of the shelter, located at 166 Riverside Industrial Parkway, was funded by a $4.59 million grant from the Maine State Housing Authority — a grant that will be partially reimbursed through the state’s General Assistance reimbursement program. According to Portland Director of Health and Human Services Director Kristen Dow, the opening of the new shelter is expected to make an estimated 100-120 beds open at…
The Maine Republican Party announced Thursday that they will nullify the ranked-choice voting process for the upcoming 2024 GOP Presidential Primary election. “Ranked-Choice Voting is widely opposed by voters in Maine, especially Republicans,” said Maine GOP Chairman Joel Stetkis. “Our party rules are clear, and we will only recognize the first round of primary election results under our delegate allocation rules.” “One person, one vote is a sacred principle to Republicans, and it should be to all Americans. That principle is what we are defending here in this party primary,” Stetkis said. Stetkis said that the Maine Republican Party “will…